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The Magicians (TV series)
The Magicians is a British family entertainment television show, first broadcast throughout January 2011 on BBC One.BBC – BBC One Programmes The show features magicians performing a number of magic tricks with guest celebrities, competing for audience support. The show returned as a live show in 2012, with new host Darren McMullen, replacing series 1 host Lenny Henry. Also Jason Latimer and Pete Firman joined regulars Barry and Stuart replacing Luis de Matos and Chris Korn as the magicians.Could it be magic? Yes, live on Beeb It was announced on 28 June 2012 that The Magicians had been axed.http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a390331/magicians-penn--teller-fool-us-axed-by-bbc-itv.html Show format Each episode featured each of the magicians being paired-up with a guest celebrity performer. In Series 1, each pairing had to perform three magic tricks: * Grand Illusion - The pair perform a grand illusion in front of the audience, inspired by the episode's set theme. * Street Magic - The pair go out on to the streets to perform in front of the general public. * Celebrity's Choice - The pair perform a trick that the celebrity has always wanted to perform. The former of these was always performed on-set in front of a live studio audience, the latter shown as a pre-recorded sequence filmed on location, while the trick of the celebrity's choosing varied between being performed live and having been pre-recorded. The order in which the magicians performed, and the order in which each of the three tricks was done, changed from show to show. After all nine performances had been completed, members of the studio audience voted for their favourite magician-celebrity partnership using an audience response system, and the host then revealed the 1st, 2nd, and finally, 3rd positions of the magicians, as chosen by the studio audience. Those in the 3rd position then had to attempt a forfeit trick that had been previously explained to the magician, but not the celebrity, for whom it would be their first time performing this trick. The forfeit trick was usually of a dangerous nature. In Series 2, the show was broadcast live, which made it the first live magic programme to be broadcast on the BBC in more than 30 years. In place of the studio vote, the results were decided by the TV audience via a phone-in voting system. Also, the three tricks from Series 1 were replaced by four new ones: * Grand Illusion - Same as series one, however, this time it was performed live. * Street Magic - Same as series one. * Close Up Magic - The pair perform a simple trick live in amongst the audience, usually involving cards. * Location Grand Illusion - The pair perform a grand illusion in a similar fashion to their street magic. Each show also now included a guest performer, who performed after all of the celebrities had performed their various tricks. This provided the time for the votes to be counted and the results passed to the studio. Additionally, the forfeit they would be expected to perform was explained to all three celebrities and magicians at the very beginning of the show. Series 1 Key: Episode 1 Theme: Box prop Forfeit trick: The Firewalk - Sian having to walk barefoot over hot ashes. Episode 2 Theme: Transportation Forfeit trick: The Buzz Saw illusion - Amanda being sawed in half by a large circular saw without any boxes covering her body. Episode 3 Theme: Animal magic Forfeit trick: Glass and Sword Staircase: walking on broken glass and swords Episode 4 Theme: Fairytales Forfeit trick: Stone Cold Smash; smashing a concrete block on the chest of an individual balanced by their ankles and shoulders on two hurdles* * Chris was supposed to be on the hurdles, with Rolf smashing the concrete, but due to a hernia sustained in rehearsals, Chris was unable to do the forfeit. Host Lenny suggested that he take Chris' place, and a member of the stagecrew stepped in to smash the concrete. Episode 5 Theme: fright night Forfeit trick: Iron Pole Bend; bending an iron pole by pressing it into their necks and running towards each other Series 2 Episode 1 Forfeit: Eating fire and gurgling molten metal Guest act: Eric Giliam and Hiroki Hara Episode 2 * In the pre-recorded sequence where Julia Bradbury first met up with Pete Firman to begin rehearsals for the show, she revealed that she was hoping the studio grand illusion would be her being sawed in half as she'd had the ambition to do that since being a little girl. Although that illusion didn't feature in the show, Julia later revealed in an interview that they had performed it a number of times during the week, just for fun. Forfeit: Walking barefoot up a staircase of swords, and then lying on your back on top of another set of swords, whilst a monk slices a watermelon on your stomach. Guest act: Michael Halvarson Episode 3 Forfeit: Lying on a bed of nails, whilst a second bed is placed on top, and six audience members walk across it, crushing it into your stomach. Guest act: Juliana Chen Episode 4 Forfeit: Walking barefoot across some broken glass and then having some concrete smashed on their head. Guest act: David and Dania Episode 5 Forfeit: having an apple shot off of their head by an archer on a rotating turntable. Guest act : Les Chapeaux Blancs Episode 6 Forfeit: Bending an iron bar in their mouths and breaking an arrow against a wall with their necks. Guest act: Hans Klok References External links * * *